The Football Forecast

Chris Nurse reflects on his carrer

The former Fort Lauderdale midfielder signed for Puerto Rico at the start of March ahead of the club’s inaugural season.

Chris Nurse has played for a number of sides including Aldershot Town and Stevenage Borough.

The London born defensive midfielder started his career at Kingstonian FC, working his way up through the youth academy. The midfielder was rewarded with a place in the senior side ahead of the 2002/2003 season.

Nurse played for a number of Non-League sides including Aldershot Town and Hinckley United. During his time with The Knitters, Nurse almost won promotion from the Conference North but Farsley Celtic beat Nurse’s side in the Play-Off final 4-3.

After spending time with Tamworth in the 2007/08 season, Nurse had a brief spell with Stevenage Borough before joining Halesowen Town.

In 2009 the former Aldershot midfielder joined Rochester Rhino’s on a one-year-deal. During his time with The Raging Rhino’s, Nurse reached the USL First Division Play-Offs but his side was eliminated by Puerto Rico Islanders.

Following a short return to England with AFC Telford United, Nurse signed for Puerto Rico Islanders, the side who he had previously faced whilst playing for Rochester. During his time with the club, the midfielder won the 2010 CFU Club Championship.

In the summer of 2010, Nurse played against LA Galaxy. During this fixture the Islanders put in an impressive performance away from home recording a 4-1 win. In the return fixture Galaxy won the match 2-1, leaving the score at 5-3 on aggregate.

The Guyana international won the USSF Division 2 Pro League after defeating Carolina Railhawks in the Play-Off final.

In March 2011, Nurse signed for Carolina Railhawks where the side managed to claim the North American Soccer League title.

The former Sutton United player re-signed for Puerto Rico Islanders in 2012 but following the side’s suspension of play, Nurse signed for FC Edmonton ahead of the 2013 season.

The midfielder made seven appearances in the North American Soccer League’s team of the week as well as being awarded with the North American Soccer League Player of the Month for August.

After just a year with Edmonton, Nurse joined Fort Lauderdale Strikers in January 2014 where he was part of the side who finished Runners-Up in the Soccer Bowl.

On the 4th March 2016, after a brief return to Carolina RailHawks in 2015, newly formed Puerto Rico FC signed Nurse as they prepare to build up a squad for the upcoming North American Soccer League season.

You started your career as a youth player with Kingstonian. How proud were you when you got promoted to the senior side?

It was a great moment for me, growing up with a lot of my friends whilst playing football. We played a reserve game against Sutton United who a lot of my friends also played for at the same time. After the game Kim Harris, the first team coach at the time came to me and said “I think you had better train with the first team.” Kim and Kingstonian Football Club gave me my first opportunity at first team football, so I will never forget them.

You had a brief spell with Sutton United before you signed for Aldershot Town. What do you remember from your time with Sutton?

Yeah, Kingstonian were hit by financial troubles back then and a lot of players left. I ended up going to join my brother and my good friend Nicky Bailey at Sutton United. We had a great team, and literally we were all best friends within the team. You would always find the squad together on and off the field.

You signed for Hinckley United in 2006, where you nearly won promotion from the Conference North. How disappointed was the side at the end of the season?

We were extremely disappointed, we had a good season and we were so close to winning but it just was not meant to be that year.

After spending time with a number of clubs including Tamworth and Stevenage you moved to America in 2009 when you signed for Rochester Rhinos. How did this move come around?

I was playing for the Guyana National team and the coach at the time, Darren Tilley was in the Caribbean scouting, after we tied 1-1 with Trinidad he contacted me and signed me for Rochester.

What made you move to America?

It was something different and exciting and an opportunity that at the time was very rare. It was something no one was doing. It’s a decision I am glad I made. I have and I am currently enjoying professional soccer in North America. It’s exciting being part of this growing revolution.

You returned to England for the 2009/10 season when you signed terms with AFC Telford United. Why did you return to England?

The off season is fairly long, from October/November through to February/March, so in order to keep active and fit I signed for Telford. The transfer rules do not allow you to sign for a club any higher than the Conference North or South, outside the window and Telford are a fantastic club.

In 2010 you signed for Puerto Rico Islanders. During your time with the club you played against LA Galaxy. How can you describe this experience in your career?

Puerto Rico has something special about it. It’s a little Caribbean team competing against the likes of LA Galaxy with David Beckham and Landon Donovan playing for them. That is one of the all time best victories of my career.

You have played for a number of American sides, including Carolina Railhawks, FC Edmonton and Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Where have you enjoyed your football the most?

I have enjoyed my time at all of them. Most of the contracts are year to year, so there is a lot of movement from club to club. But the experiences that I have gained from playing in various different countries, under different coaches and learning different cultures has been invaluable. You cannot put a price on those experiences.

You have represented Guyana over 40 times. I recently spoke to your international team mate, Sam Cox. How has the national team benefitted from Cox choosing to play for the Golden Jaguars?

Cox is a leader and a top class person and player. He’s hungry for success and he is still young. I am sure he will contribute a lot to the game for years to come. He came up through the Tottenham academy, so the experience he can bring to the youths of Guyana can only help in developing and nurturing their minds for a better chance of success as professionals.

Finally, now you have signed for Puerto Rico FC, what are your plans for 2016?

I am back in Puerto Rico for 2016. I thank God for this blessing and I hope I can use the opportunity to motivate and inspire other people in a positive way. I am very grateful to the owner Carmelo Anthony and the technical staff including Adrian Whitbread, and Neil Sillett for believing in me and I can just hope I can repay that by working as hard as I can. I will be trying to bring success to the team. The fans in Puerto Rico are unbelievable so it’s about to be something special again.